Self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) investors are getting younger, according to new data contained in a study undertaken via Macquarie Bank and the SMSF Professionals’ Association of Australia (SPAA).
The so-called Active Management Report, released this week, revealed that 46 per cent of recent SMSF investors are aged under 30 and that one in five of those people are women living at home with one or more parents.
The report claimed this strongly indicated that SMSFs were being considered and set up by people with a very different profile to traditional SMSF investors, who were generally considered to be middle-aged or older.
Macquarie Bank Analytics Insights manager, Gary Lembit, said the younger generation in particular was becoming more engaged — and with SMSFs often involving family members, SMSF management had become very much a family affair.
“High property prices are making it a real challenge for young Australians to enter the housing market, and this is one of the main reasons why adult children are staying at home for longer,” he said.
“It is also encouraging them to think about where else to invest their money so they are building their wealth for the future, and of course, retirement.”
The study revealed that current and intending SMSF investors tended to be more purposeful in their financial behaviour and were constantly striving to benefit their families financially in the long term.
It claimed that, compared to non-SMSF investors, both current and intending SMSF investors were more likely to save as much as they could, with two in three intending investors saying they saved as much as possible.
Commenting on the results of the survey, SPAA chief executive Andrea Slattery said the findings confirmed SMSF investors took an active role in managing their investments from day-to-day and an active role in their savings and future retirement plans.
